


Rule 8

by AthenaMay24



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-31
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-04-02 04:44:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4046461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AthenaMay24/pseuds/AthenaMay24
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is essentially a collection of one-shots about the kids I imagine for Tiva and McAbby.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How to Deal With Mean Babysitters

Tony couldn’t keep his eyes off of Ziva, who was sitting across from him in the bullpen as usual. But, really, when could he keep his eyes off of her? He smiled to himself.

               “Tony? Hello?” Ziva waved her hand in front of his line of sight. “You’re zaning out again.”

               “It’s ‘zoning’ out, Zi—va,” Tony said, smiling as Ziva rolled her eyes. He started whistling cheerily, looking back at his computer.

               McGee, hearing Tony’s whistles as he came out of the elevator, asked, “Why are you so happy, Tony?”

               “Oh, I’m just excited. I snagged a date with a _beautiful_ woman tonight,” Tony said cockily, locking eyes with Ziva.

               Ziva raised an eyebrow, “Really?”

               “How did you do that?” McGee asked, playing along with Ziva.

               “I just told her how much she means to me,” Tony shrugged like it was no big deal and stood up, coming around his desk, “how much I love her,” he walked right over to Ziva, “and how lucky I am to have her,” his voice got softer as Ziva stood up to meet him. They were standing mere inches apart. “And it doesn’t hurt that she loves me almost as much as I love her,” Tony added right before he felt a sharp smack on the back of his head.

               “DiNozzo, it’s bad enough Rule 12 went out the window, how many times do I have to tell you to keep it at home?” Gibbs asked, sitting behind his desk. McGee chuckled slightly and Gibbs rounded on him, “You're not out of the woods either, Tim. Don’t think I don’t know you just came up from the lab.”

               “Oh, c’mon, Boss,” Tony protested as Ziva took her seat, “Tonight is our first date since Andrew was born.”

               “His name is Zachary, Tony,” Ziva said sharply.

               Tony turned back to her, “If you played fair then ‘Andrew’ would come first!”

               “How exactly does one cheat at Rock-Paper-Scissors?” Ziva demanded.

               Gibbs interrupted before Tony could say that if it could be done then Ziva would be the one to know how to do it. “I don’t care what you call him, but for his sake, don’t let him go by Jethro.”

               Ziva continued to glare at Tony, “I think that Zachary Andrew Jethro DiNozzo is a perfectly acceptable name for our son,” she said.

               Tony took her hand, watching her wedding ring play in the light. “I agree. I'm just gonna call him Andrew.”

               “Good, now that that’s settled,” Gibbs took a sip of his coffee before barking, “DiNozzo!”

               “Yes, Boss?”

               “Take your seat. Those reports will not write themselves.”

               “Yes, Boss.”

 

~o0o~

 

               When Tony and Ziva arrived at their small house, they were bombarded with the sounds of their girls giggling in the living room. Smiling at each other, they walked hand-in-hand into the room.

               Their baby boy, Zachary, was in the arms of Ally, the babysitter. Their daughters, the fraternal twins Tali and Katie, were practically rolling on the floor consumed by laughter. Ally stood up when Tony and Ziva came in, but Tali and Katie did not notice their parents at first.

               Ziva laughed slightly, catching her daughters’ infectious giggles without even knowing what they were laughing at. “Hey, handsome,” she said to Zachary, taking him from Ally. “What’s going on?” she asked, nodding to the twins.

               “It’s too complicated to explain,” Ally said, which Ziva could easily believe.

               Tony, after greeting Ally, joined his girls on the floor, throwing himself down in the middle of them and tickling them as they tackled him. Ziva and Ally, actually quite used to this type thing, sat on the couch and played with Zachary, trying to outwait Tony, Tali, and Katie’s antics.

               Finally, growing tired of the never ending horseplaying, Ziva said quietly, “Tony, if you really want to go out tonight, we need to get ready.”

               Tony jumped up real quick, leaving Katie and Tali protesting. “How long is it going to take you?” he asked, responding to his daughters almost absentmindedly by picking them up so he had a girl on each hip.

               “I don’t know, but you need to pay Ally so she can go home. I’m sure Abby and Tim are expecting her,” Ziva said.

               “Oh, right,” Tony flashed his signature grin apologetically. “Sorry, Socks,” he said to Ally. He set Katie down on the couch and fished in his wallet one handedly. After a few seconds of Tony struggling to get out the cash, Ziva snatched the wallet from him and did it herself.

               “Thanks, Mr. and Mrs. DiNozzo,” Ally said as she waved goodbye to the kids and headed toward the door.

               “How many times do I have to tell you to call us Tony and Ziva?” Ziva admonished as she walked Ally out. When she returned she was half surprised that Tony and the girls hadn’t returned to their previous activities on the floor. Instead, Tony was actually being productive.

               “Tonight your mother and I are going out,” Tony was saying to Tali and Katie as Ziva came in. She stopped in the door to watch Tony crouching in front of where the girls were sitting on the couch.

               “Where are you going?” Katie asked, her dark eyes inquisitive. Katie was definitely the most outspoken twin.

               “Your mommy and I want to spend some time together, just us,” Tony explained.

               “What about us?” Katie frowned.

               “You get to stay here with a new friend,” Tony tried to sound upbeat.

               “What about Ally?” Tali asked quietly.

               “She couldn’t stay tonight,” Ziva finally spoke up, coming fully in the room.

               “Then who’s gonna play with us?” Katie asked.

               “Well, you get a new friend,” Tony repeated, still trying to get them excited. At this point, Tony was so desperate for some alone time with his wife that he’d force the kids to stay even if they hated the new sitter, but he’d prefer if they went along willingly. “Will you try to have fun for me? Please?”

               Tali, always a daddy’s girl, nodded.

               “Alright, Tali May!” Tony whooped, “Got one! What about you, Miss Katie Ann?”

               “Okay,” Katie sighed dramatically, causing Tony and Ziva to share amused looks. In some ways their daughter was more like her Aunt Abby than either of her parents. Tony sent Ziva a victorious grin, with a gleam in his eye that amused her more than their daughter’s dramatics did.

 

~o0o~

 

               Tony came into his bedroom after putting his son to bed to find Ziva nearly completely ready. She was standing in front of the mirror when he came in. The sight of her in that little black dress caused Tony to completely miss what she said to him as he stood there. “What?”

               “I said I’m almost ready,” Ziva repeated, sliding a jeweled clip into her hair. She’d French braided it down her back. “What do you think?” she asked, locking eyes with her husband in the mirror.

               “You look, well, you look beautiful, sweetcheeks,” Tony said, coming right up behind her and kissing her neck. He wrapped one arm around her waist and used the other to pull the holder from the end of her braid. Ziva watched, amused, as Tony continued to kiss her neck and pull her hair all the way down. She opened her mouth to ask why he’d undone all her hard work when he interrupted her. “You look gorgeous no matter what, but tonight is about you and me and the way it was before the kids, and I want to go out with my wife they was she looked when I first met her.”

               “Tony, now my hair is a mess,” Ziva said, sounding more perturbed than annoyed.

               Tony straightened up, “So? I like it.” He ran his fingers through her hair one last time and then went to get changed.

 

~o0o~

 

               Ziva did end up wearing her hair down, but was quickly reminded why she’d taken to wearing it up more often when Zachary gave it a few good yanks when she was settling him back down in bed again. Tony had accidentally woken him up (of course) and Ziva figured she might as well say goodbye and goodnight while he was awake.

               When she came out of Zachary’s room she heard Tony letting in the new sitter and introducing her to the twins.

               “Mrs. Harriet, these are my twin daughters, Tali and Katie,” Tony pushed them forward gently.

               “Hi!” Katie said brightly. She tried to wave, but her sister was holding tightly to her hand.

               Tony noticed Ziva, “And this is my wife. Ziva, this is Mrs. Harriet, the sitter.”

               “Hello,” Ziva said politely. “Um, Tony, can I talk to you for a minute?” She grabbed her bewildered husband’s hand and pulled him into the other room.

               “Ziva, what is it?” Tony asked, sounding annoyed.

               “Are we sure about this?” Ziva asked, running a hand through her curls.

               “About what?”

               “Leaving our kids with a complete stranger!”

               Tony sighed. So _that_ was what this was about. “Ziva, we picked Mrs. Harriet out together. She’s completely certified and she’s experienced.” He put his hands on Ziva’s shoulders, “They will be perfectly fine.”

               Ziva pushed a curl out of her face, “You really believe that?”

               Tony led her into the living room. “Look,” he said quietly.

               Katie and Tali were on the floor with Mrs. Harriet, who was smiling and nodding along to a story Tali was telling.

               “Tali is actually talking to her?” Ziva said, almost in awe.

               “Do you trust her now?” Tony asked.

               Ziva nodded sheepishly, “I’m sorry. I guess I overreacted.”

               “It’s fine, because I’ll be the one overreacting when they start dating,” Tony said and grunted when Ziva’s arm connected with his gut.

               “They are only four!” she said sharply before going fully into the living room. “Give Mommy a hug,” she kneeled and scooped Katie into her arms.

               Tali, however, went straight for Tony. “Daddy, do you have to go?”

               Tony glanced at Ziva, “Yeah, Maisie, we do,” he said, using his special nickname for Tali.

               “But you’ll both have fun here with Mrs. Harriet, won’t you?” Ziva added, giving both girls a kiss.

               “Of course they will,” Mrs. Harriet broke in.

               After more goodbyes (and surprisingly no tears) Tony and Ziva finally made it out the door.

 

~o0o~

 

               They made it halfway through a very nice dinner before they got the call. “Hello?” Tony answered, locking eyes with Ziva across the table from him.

               “Mr. DiNozzo, I have never in my life—” a sharp scream blasted out of the tiny phone speakers, drowning out the rest of the sentence.

               “Hello? Mrs. Harriet, is that you?” Tony asked, trying to hear over all the ambient noise. The panicked look on Ziva’s face made him glad he picked up the phone and not her.

               “Mr. DiNozzo!” There was a crash, “You must come home _at once_!” Before Tony could say anything, there was a click and the line went dead.

               Tony did not even have to relay the contents of the call to Ziva. Within a half a second of the phone hanging up, she was on her feet calling for a check. She did not say a word to him until they got to the parking lot.

               “Give me the keys, Tony,” Ziva said through her teeth. There was a slight breeze blowing her curls around her face, and she looked very much like the old Ziva Tony first met. The dangerous Ziva.

               “No,” Tony said calmly, and Ziva’s eyes flashed.

               “Our children have gotten into who knows what. We need to get there as fast as possible.”

               “Then why don’t you get in the car so I can drive us home?” Tony said, opening the driver’s side and got in himself. After a second, Ziva slammed the passenger door.

               Tony sighed inwardly. He’d been very afraid that Ziva would argue more. They did not have time to fight, but there was no way that Tony was letting Ziva be in control of a motor vehicle in the state she was in.

               Ziva spent most of the ride facing out her window. Tony assumed she was fuming, but when they were about 5 minutes away from their house, she turned around and Tony could see that she was actually very upset.

               “Hey,” Tony reached over and tried to put his arm around her, but since he was driving it didn’t quite work so he settled for taking her hand instead. “The kids are alright.”

               His attempts at comforting her actually had an opposite affect and now she glared at him, “How do you know? I know we shouldn’t have left them with that woman!”

               “Look, Zi, we took a chance. Neither of us could have seen that this would happen,” Tony paused, “Although, they are our kids. We should have foreseen something.”

               Ziva smacked him, but she was smiling slightly.

 

~o0o~

 

               When Tony and Ziva opened the door, instead of being greeted by the sounds of their children’s laughter, they were met by Katie’s shouts and Zachary’s cries in the background. The absence of any noise from Tali was quickly explained when they rushed into the living room. Tali was standing in the middle of the room, crying silently. Mrs. Harriet was holding Katie by the arm while Katie shouted insults at her. Zachary’s screams increased from his bedroom.

               Before Tony could do anything to stop her, Ziva practically pounced on Mrs. Harriet, snatching Katie away from her. “Get your hands _off_ my daughter!” Ziva snapped, pulling Katie close.

               “Excuse me, but maybe you should train your demon child!” Mrs. Harriet said angrily.

               Ziva opened her mouth, but Tony noticed something and cut her off. “Do you have a black eye?” he asked Mrs. Harriet. Ziva stopped in her tracks and looked closely at the babysitter as well.

               “Yes!” Mrs. Harriet practically spit out, “As I was saying, that heathen,” she pointed a shaking finger at Katie, “attacked me!”

               “ _Katie_!” Ziva said, shocked and disappointed at the same time. “You hit Mrs. Harriet?”

               Katie, knowing her mom was angry, looked down at her feet, “She made Tali cry,” the little girl said softly.

               Tony and Ziva exchanged looks. Finally Tony said, “Mrs. Harriet, why don’t you join me in the kitchen and I’ll pay you for your troubles. We won’t need your services anymore.” Tony and Mrs. Harriet departed, leaving Ziva with a suddenly very meek Katie.

               “Caitlin Ann DiNozzo, you know better than to use violence except when it’s absolutely necessary,” Ziva reprimanded.

               “It was necessary!” Katie protested.

               “I don’t think it was,” Ziva said, “I’m going to go take care of your brother. When your father gets back we’ll talk about why what you did was wrong.”

               Katie nodded and, as Ziva left to room to try to console her youngest, she saw Katie move over to try to comfort Tali, who was still crying. Ziva walked into Zachary’s room to find him wailing and rocking back and forth in his crib. Ziva picked him up and patted his back, bouncing him until he quieted down. But when she tried to put him down he would cry again. He did this sometimes, when the only thing that would keep him calm was Ziva holding him. Tony said it was because he was already a little ladies man and he recognized a beautiful woman when he saw one, but Ziva thought that it was a result of not having as much time with his mother as he needed. She had no evidence to prove that theory, but it made her very guilty about leaving him.

               Resigned that Zachary was probably going to spend the night in her arms, Ziva carried him back out to the living room where Tony had joined the girls. Tali and Katie were sitting side by side on the couch with Tony kneeling in front of them the same way they were when Tony told them about the date, except this time Tony did not look nearly as happy.

               Ziva sat on the end of the couch. Tony gave her a look that said ‘I have no idea how to start, so feel free to take it away.’

               “Katie, do you know what you did wrong?” Ziva asked looking into her daughter’s face. Katie was on the other side of Tali from Ziva and did not seem to want to answer.

               “I hit Mrs. Harriet,” Katie admitted finally.

               “And why is hitting someone wrong?” Ziva prompted. Katie didn’t answer.

               “Katie-Bug, do you know why it was wrong?” Tony asked. Ziva wished he wouldn’t use Katie’s nickname when she was in trouble.

               Katie still didn’t say anything. “It’s wrong because you could have hurt her,” Ziva said.

               “I did hurt her,” Katie said, finally looking up from her lap. “Her eye was black.”

               “Yeah, it was,” Tony said, “Do you feel sorry for hurting Mrs. Harriet?”

               “I don’t know,” Katie said honestly, “Does Mrs. Harriet feel sorry for making Tali cry?” Tali chose that moment to let out a huge sniffle, reminding Tony and Ziva that they still had that issue to deal with.

               “It doesn’t matter, honey,” Ziva said gently, “You should feel sorry no matter if Mrs. Harriet does or not. We aren’t saying she wasn’t wrong, we’re saying that hitting her was.”

               “Oh,” Katie said in a small voice. “I just wanted her to stop.”

               “We know, Katie-Bug,” Tony said, “But we need to come up with some better ways of handling the situation, okay?” Katie nodded. “And to do that, we need to know why you hit Mrs. Harriet.”

               “Because she—”

               “We know it was because she made Tali cry, but why did you think it was okay to hit her?” Tony interrupted.

               Tali actually spoke up to answer that one, “Mommy told us to.”

               “What?” Tony and Ziva said together.

               “You said that if anyone tries to hurt us we should hit ‘em right in the nose,” Katie touched her own nose for emphasis, “But I missed and hit her eye,” she added contemplatively.

               Tony turned to look at Ziva, interested as to how she would explain herself, which she rushed to do, “No, baby, I didn’t mean someone like Mrs. Harriet. I meant a stranger.”

               “Mrs. Harriet is a stranger,” Tali said matter of factly. Now that she’d decided to join the conversation, she had no problem inserting her input.

               “You might not have met her before, but your mother and I introduced her to you,” Tony clarified, “A stranger is someone who doesn’t know you or me or Mommy.”

               “Oh,” the little girls said together.

               “Katie, do you see now that punching Mrs. Harriet was not the proper response?” Ziva asked sternly.

               “Yes ma’am,” Katie said, going back to staring at her feet.

               “Do you know what comes next?” Ziva asked.

               “Punishment?” Katie guessed.

               “She’s a smart one. Nothing gets past her,” Tony said, causing Ziva to glare at him.

               “That’s right,” Ziva said. “First, we’re taking away TV time until Wednesday. You also need to write an apology letter to Mrs. Harriet for her black eye. I want you to draw her a nice picture to go with the letter that says how sorry you are.”

               “But—”

               “No buts. Now, why don’t you and I go get you ready for bed while Daddy has a talk with Tali about why Mrs. Harriet made her cry.”

               “Okay,” Katie said dejectedly, getting up and proceeding Ziva, with Zachary finally asleep in her arms, out of the room. Ziva shot Tony a look before she left that said ‘I’m trusting you to handle this on your own. Don’t screw it up.”

               When Katie and Ziva and Zachary were out of the room, Tony moved onto the couch next to his daughter. He examined her closely for a minute, trying to think of the best way to begin. Around Tali’s blue eyes (she got that trait from Tony’s mother) was red from crying, and she kept sniffling and rubbing her face. Her light brown hair, wavy but not as curly as her mother’s, was tangled in a knot in the back of her head. Tony, thinking he could distract her slightly, took her hairbrush off of the coffee table and pulled her into his lap.

               He began brushing her hair. It was something that only Tony did and he enjoyed it immensely. Katie was too impatient for him to try to brush through her mass of curls, and Ziva was the only one who knew how to deal with hair like theirs anyway. But Tony could hold Tali in his lap and she would sit quietly while he brushed her hair out. Sometimes she would talk to him about her day, or just sit and play with her fingers. Sometimes Tony would talk to her, trying to make her laugh or just because she was a good listener. Tony was often jealous of Ziva’s relationship with their kids, but even he knew that he had something special with Tali.

               After Tali had calmed down completely, soothed by her father working her hair, Tony asked, “Why did Mrs. Harriet make you cry?”

               Tali thought for a moment, like she always did, before answering, “She didn’t.”

               Tony was taken aback. He paused in brushing her hair so she turned around to look at him. “Then why did you cry?”

               “I didn’t want to go to bed without you and Mommy,” Tali said sadly. “I didn’t mean to upset everyone,” Tale sounded about as remorseful as Tony had ever heard a four year old get.

               “Hey, Maisie-Girl, it’s not your fault that you missed Mommy and me,” Tony hurried to reassure Tali.

               “Okay,” Tony could tell that his daughter was reluctant to believe him.

               “Why did Katie attack Mrs. Harriet if she didn’t make you cry?” Tony asked after a minute.

               Tali took a deep breath and put her small hand on Tony’s chest, focusing her attention on her fingers. “Because Mrs. Harriet told me not to cry. She said crying was for babies.”

               “Crying’s not for babies,” Tony said. He dropped a kiss on Tali’s nose, “It’s okay to cry, and crying is way better than punching your babysitter.”

               Tali giggled a little, which was Tony’s intended effect. “Mrs. Harriet grabbed me like this,” Tali carefully place each of her hands on one of Tony’s shoulders, “And shook me,” she wiggled her body to demonstrate, “That’s when Katie hit her.”

               Tony clenched his teeth. How dare that woman touch his little girl! But before he could act on his anger, Tali’s arms moved from his shoulders to around his neck and she kissed his cheek.

               “I love you, Daddy,” she said. Then, as if that settled everything, she put the brush back in Tony’s hand and turned back around.

               Tony felt his anger melt away. He continued brushing his daughter’s hair. He’d have a talk with Ziva later about all of this, but right now he was more concerned with what he had in that moment.


	2. Alianna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abby and McGee break a rule and become involved in a case because of a certain teenage girl who's just lost her father.

               “We got a body,” Gibbs entered the bullpen long enough to grab his stuff before heading to the elevator, his team following.

               “Uh, Boss?” McGee asked, bringing up the rear, “I don’t know if you re—”

               “No, I didn’t forget, Tim,” Gibbs said as he entered the elevator, “I just got off the phone with Abby. She’s bringing them with her.”

               “Annabelle and Rhiannon are coming here?” McGee asked, his eyes wide.

               “No, she’s bringing DiNozzo’s kids,” Gibbs said sarcastically, smacking McGee on the back of the head as the elevator doors closed. “They’ll be with their mother, won’t they?”

               “Yeah, McDaddy, are you implying that Abby can’t handle her own kids?” Tony asked from the back of the elevator.

               “Well, Tony, with an uncle like you . . .” McGee countered, but his heart wasn’t in it. He’d been hoping that his daughters would never have to come to NCIS, for the sake of everyone involved.

 

~o0o~

 

               “The victim, Jacob Roberts, was a Marine, served two tours, but transferred to reserve just last month to live with his wife and daughter,” Ziva said to Gibbs while McGee snapped photos of Jacob Robert’s body. “Tony is with the family.”

               “Witnesses?”

               “The wife saw it all, but the killer ran.”

               “I want full protective custody on that wife and girl,” Gibbs said immediately, “Where is Ducky?” he demanded after a minute.

               “Sorry we’re late!” Palmer called from the distance.

 

~o0o~

 

               Gibbs walked quietly into the conference room where a woman and her fourteen year old were seated. Both were tearstained, but the girl was the only one who looked scared. Her mother just looked worn, almost washed out.

               “My name is Special Agent Gibbs,” Gibbs introduced himself, taking seat across from them.

               “Jenna Roberts,” the woman said, brushing a stray lock of blonde hair out of her face, “This is my daughter Alianna.”

               “Mrs. Roberts, Alianna, we need to—”

               Alianna cut him off, “Ally,” she said, but it came out as a croak, so she cleared her throat and repeated herself. “Everyone calls me Ally.”

               Gibbs nodded once, “We’re going to need fingerprint and DNA samples from each of you as a control.” Mrs. Roberts nodded. Gibbs glanced at Ally. “McGee!” he called and McGee stuck his head in the door. “Take Ally down to Abby to get DNA and fingerprints. I’ll bring Mrs. Roberts down once I take her statement.”

               “Okay, if you’ll follow me,” McGee said, holding the door for Ally. They walked in silence until they reached the elevator. “Did Gibbs say your name is Ally?” McGee asked as he pushed the button for Abby’s lab.

               “Ally’s a nickname. Technically, my name is Alianna, but that’s a mouthful.”

               McGee nodded, “That’s what Abby’s sometimes says about her full name.” He paused, “We’re going to—”

               “Collect DNA and fingerprints, I heard. Twice,” Ally said and then blushed, “I’m sorry, that wasn’t supposed to come out that way.”

               “Hey, it’s fine,” McGee reassured her. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did mean it like that.” McGee felt so out of place. What do you say to a fourteen year old who’d just lost her father?

               “Who’s Abby?” Ally asked after a second.

               “What?” McGee broke out of his thoughts.

               “You and Mr. Gibbs have both mentioned an ‘Abby’.”

               “She’s our forensic scientist,” McGee suddenly remembered that if Abby was here, then Annabella and Rhiannon probably were too. “She’s also my wife. She takes a little getting used to, but she’s the sweetest person you’ll ever meet.” The elevator door opened and the sounds of little girls’ shouts wafted out of the lab. “And those are probably my daughters.” McGee added.

               “They let you bring your kids to work?” Ally asked, stepping out of the elevator.

               “Not usually.” Another round of noises came from the lab, “It helps that Agent Gibbs can’t say no to Abby.”

               “Are you talking about me again, Tim?” Abby walked into view, stopping in the doorway. Ally had time to register platforms, pigtails, tattoos, and a dog collar before Abby spotted her and rushed forward to give her a hug. “I’m so sorry about your dad,” she said, not letting go, “We’re going to do everything we can to make it right. No, scratch that, if everything was right, you’d have your dad.” Abby pulled back and raised her right hand, “I promise that we’ll do everything in our power to make the situation as good as possible,” she said.

               Ally was strangely touched, “Thank you.”

               “Who are you?” came a small voice to Ally’s left. Turning, she saw that a small child had appeared in McGee’s arms. She had pigtails like her mom, and a small black and white tutu. Her black shirt had a pink skull printed on the front.

               “Anna, this is Ally,” McGee said, “Ally, this is our oldest, Annabelle Leigh.” He poked his daughter’s stomach, “Have you been behaving for Momma?” he asked. Annabelle nodded solemnly.

               Abby laughed, “They’ve both been fine Timmy, stop worrying,” she said, and Ally noticed a smaller girl clutching her mother’s leg. Abby scooped her up into her arms. The younger daughter had Abby’s black hair (also pigtailed) and Abby’s bright green eyes. Turning to Ally, Abby said, “If you’ll follow me we’ll get your samples.” As she walked past it, she put her daughter in the playpen taking up space in the middle of the lab. Ally paused by it to watch its occupant.

               “What’s her name?” Ally asked, smiling down at the girl.

               “Oh, sorry,” Abby said, “That’s Rhiannon.” She clicked on her computer for a minute, “Tim, will you get the DNA while I get this set up?” she asked.

               “Sure,” McGee put Annabelle down, giving her strict instructions to sit quietly for a few minutes.

               “Can you come this way?” McGee asked, leading Ally to the back part of the lab, rummaging around for a minute before pulling out the DNA mouth swabs. “If you’ll mind opening your mouth?” he asked, feeling awkward.

               Ally obliged and a few seconds later they were rejoining Abby. “Okay, I just need you to put your thumb on this scanner,” Abby said, helping Ally get it in just the right spot. They continued that way until they’d done all of Ally’s fingers. 

               “Is there anywhere else I should go?” Ally asked when they were done.

               “You’re supposed to be in my protective custody, but I really need to be here helping Abby,” McGee said, “Do you mind hanging out around here?”

               “Not at all,” Ally crouched down beside Annabelle, “Just please find whoever killed my dad.”              

               McGee and Abby soon forgot that Ally was even there. They were so caught up in what they were doing that when Abby told McGee that she was going upstairs to get samples form Mrs. Roberts, he didn’t hear her. He looked up from the computer a few minutes later, breaking out of his focus. He assumed that Abby took the girls to the back of the lab, because he alone, and Abby would have told him if she’d left completely.

               McGee had nothing to do until the program he started finished running, so, noticing that Abby was out of Caf-Pow, he hollered, “I’m gonna go get you a refill,” and went upstairs. Abby and McGee ran into each other in the upstairs hallway.  

               “Tim!”

               “Abby!”

               “What are you doing?” the said together.

               “Getting you a Caf-Pow,” McGee said at the same time Abby said, “Collecting samples.”

               “Why didn’t you tell me?” they both asked.

               “I did!” they yelled.

               McGee took deep breath, “Here’s your Caf-Pow,” he handed it to her.

               Abby slapped it out of his hand and it bounced once before splashing red liquid along the wall and floor. “We have bigger problems!” she took off toward the stairs.

               “What?” McGee asked, following after her.

               “Who’s with the kids?!?” Abby shouted back. McGee mumbled a curse and hurried after her faster.

              

~o0o~

 

               Abby and McGee skidded to a halt outside the door to the lab. They both had pretty horrible scenarios running through their heads. A forensic science lab is not the best place for a three year old and a one and a half year old. When Abby and McGee nervously peeked inside the lab, a miraculous sight met their eyes.

               “And so Rapunzel and her prince lived happily ever after,” Ally was saying.

               “Did she ever cut her hair?” Annabelle asked. She was sitting on Ally’s lap in the rolling chair next to Rhiannon in her playpen.

               “I don’t know, what do you think?” Ally asked.

               “I don’t think she did,” Annabelle looked up at Ally, “I wanna be just like Rapunzel.”

               “You want to be locked up in a tower?” Ally asked, tickling Annabelle’s stomach.

               Annabelle managed to get out between giggles, “No, I never wanna cut my hair.” She pouted slightly, “But Momma makes me.”

               “Mama,” Rhiannon said, standing up and looking toward the door.

               “Hey girls,” Abby said, hesitantly, “We didn’t mean to interrupt.”

               “Oh, no, I'm sorry,” Ally said, “I just looked up and you both were gone, so I figured someone should watch them. They’ve kinda been helping me keep my mind off of everything.”

               “Thank you,” Abby said. Then, picking up a begging Rhiannon, she rounded on McGee, “Why did you leave them alone?”

               “To get you a Caf-Pow,” McGee said, sounding exasperated.

               “Didn’t you know I left?” Abby asked, turning away from her husband and typing one handedly on her computer.

               “No.”

               “Well, I told you,” Abby said. after a moment, she asked, “Will you go get me a new Caf-Pow?”

 

~o0o~

 

               A few minutes later McGee returned, a Caf-Pow clenched in his hand. “Tim, what’s wrong? Your knuckles are white,” Abby said quietly.

               “Can I talk to you in the hall for a minute?” McGee glanced at Ally, who looked up curiously.

               “What’s wrong?” Abby asked after they’d relocated to the hallway.

               McGee glanced at Ally through the door again. He swallowed. “Gibbs and Mrs. Roberts were on the way to the crime scene, but when they got out of the car, Mrs. Roberts was shot.”

               “Is she okay?”

               “She’s in critical condition.”

               “Poor Ally,” Abby looked back inside the lab. “Did Gibbs . . ?”

               “Yeah, he got the guy.”

               “Uh, guys?” Ally said from the door, “What’s going on?” she asked nervously, “You keep looking at me.”

               Abby didn’t say a word, just pulled Ally into a bone-crushing hug. “I hate to tell you this,” McGee said, “When Agent Gibbs and your mom got to your house, uh, there was a shoot-out.”

               “My mom?” Ally asked, “What happened to my mom?”

               “She’s at the hospital.”

               Ally nodded, “Can I see her?”

               “We can go right now,” McGee said, “But, I have to warn you, it’s not looking good.”

               Ally smiled bravely, “Let’s go.”

 

~o0o~

 

               Mrs. Roberts died in the hospital a few minutes after Ally visited her. Ally and McGee were sitting in the waiting room when the doctors brought them the news.

               Ally hugged McGee, stunning him. “I’m sorry,” she said, pulling back, “I forgot, Abby’s the hugger,” she sniffed.

               “It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize,” McGee said.

               “Can you—” Ally paused, her tears inhibiting her speech, “I don’t know how to—” she let out a shaky breath, “The funerals?”

               “Of course,” McGee said quickly. “We’ll take care of everything.” Ally hugged him again, crying into his shoulder.

 

~o0o~

 

               A few weeks later, after the double funeral, Gibbs approached Abby and McGee in the lab. Ally had been staying with them because Abby refused to let Child Services take over.

               “Gibbs, what are you doing down here?” McGee asked when Gibbs strolled in, Caf-Pow in hand, “We don’t have a case.”

               “Really, McGee? I hadn’t noticed,” Gibbs said sarcastically, but with no bite. He handed Abby the drink.

               Abby sipped her Caf-Pow, savoring her first mouthful, “What’s up, Boss-man? Is it about Ally? I told you, I am not letting Child Services—”

               “Abby, you can’t keep—”

               “No, Gibbs,” Abby said flatly, slamming down her Caf-Pow.

               Gibbs looked to McGee for help. “Abby, we’re not related to her, we have no right to—”

               “ _Tim_!” Abby interrupted.

               “I’ve come to love her just as much as you have, but we have to think of what’s best for her,” McGee said, trying to take Abby’s hand, but she snatched it away.

               “Abbs, you can’t keep ignoring the calls,” Gibbs said, “Ally needs—”

               “She needs a family!” Abby shouted.

               “Unless you adopt her, she still doesn’t have one.”

               “Then we’ll adopt her!” Abby said without thinking.

               “Good, glad that’s settled. I’ll get someone from legal to come by next week. Talk it over with Ally, I’m sure she’ll be thrilled,” Gibbs said over his shoulder as he walked out, leaving McGee and Abby staring dumbfounded at each other.

 

~o0o~

 

               “You like Ally, don’t you?” McGee asked his daughters a few days later. Ally had an afterschool meeting that day, so Abby and McGee gathered the girls to ask them what they thought about the adoption.

               “Yes,” Annabelle said, not fully paying attention to her father.

               “Yes what?” Abby asked sternly.

               “Yes, sir,” Annabelle looked up at her parents now.

               “Do you remember when we told you you’d be getting Rhiannon as a sister?” McGee asked, bouncing Rhiannon on his knee. She was still a little too young to fully understand the concept of adoption, but she seemed to really like Ally.

               “Kinda,” Annabelle wrinkled her nose, “I didn’t like her at first.”

               Abby and McGee laughed. “We know,” Abby said. “What do you think about Ally becoming your new sister?”

               Annabelle thought a minute, “Will she be stinky like Rhee was?”

               “No,” Abby laughed again, “But she’ll live here with us, and she might babysit you sometimes.”

               “She already does that. What’s the difference?”

               “You won’t get to be the oldest anymore,” McGee said, “Is that okay?”

               “I don’t know. Will I still get to tell Rhee what to do?”

               “Yes, but Ally will get to tell you what to do, too,” McGee explained.

               “Okay,” Annabelle decided.

               “So you’re okay with Ally being your sister?” Abby clarified.

               “Yes.”

               “ _Anna_.”

               “Yes, ma’am.”

 

~o0o~

 

               “What’s going on?” Ally asked apprehensively, looking around the dinner table. She was afraid that they were kicking her out. She’d grown to love the McGee family; she felt at home here. Abby’s quirkiness didn’t faze her (it actually fascinated her), McGee’s geekiness was nothing short of awesome (Ally considered herself a nerd anyway), and the girls were adorable (and Ally treated them like siblings).

               “We have a very important question to ask you,” McGee said, setting Annabelle’s plate in front of her.

               “Okay . . .” Ally bit her lip.

               “We’ve thought it over, and in the interest of everyone we’ve decided—”

               “Cut to the chase, Tim, you’re scaring her,” Abby cut in.

               “I am not.”

               “Look, just because you won the chance to tell her doesn’t mean that—”

               “I’m just trying to go about this the right way.”

               “Guys?” Ally broke in, “If you don’t want me living here, it’s fine.”

               There was a pause while Abby and McGee processed Ally’s words. But Annabelle didn’t need time to process anything.

               “How can you be my sister if you don’t live here?” Annabelle asked, not taking her eyes off of her attempts to feed herself.

               “What?” Ally asked, shocked.

               “We don’t want you to leave,” Abby said quickly, “We were going to offer to adopt you.”

               “If you want,” McGee added.

               “What?” Ally blinked. This was not what she expected.

               “We just figured that you might want to stay with us permanently,” Abby said.

               “We talked it over, the girls are okay with it, there aren’t any legal issues . . .” McGee trailed off, but Ally still didn’t say anything.

               “You don’t have to call us ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ or anything,” Abby added, trying to fill the silence, “But we’ve come to think of you as—”

               “Yes,” Ally interrupted.

               Abby didn’t appear to hear her, “family, even though it’s only been a few weeks, but the girls love you, Tim and I love you, and we thought you liked us too . . .”

               “Abby, she said yes,” McGee said, waving a hand in front of her face.

               “You said yes?” Abby squealed, jumped up, and came around the table to hug Ally.

               “Yes,” Ally repeated.

               “Yes, ma’am,” Annabelle corrected, still only half paying attention to the rest of the room. Ally laughed along with the McGee’s—no, wait—with her new family. A few days later, Ally Roberts became Alianna Nicole Roberts-McGee and the NCIS family officially welcomed a new member.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alianna ‘Ally’ Nicole Roberts-McGee—14 years old in this chapter. Abby and McGee adopted her when her parents died during a case. Everyone calls her ‘Ally’ and Tony calls her ‘Socks’ because of her choice of footwear.
> 
> Annabelle Leigh McGee—3 years old in this chapter. Her parents call her ‘Anna’ and her Uncle Tony calls her ‘Bells’. She is named after the Edgar Allen Poe poem.
> 
> Rhiannon McGee—18 months in this chapter. Annabelle calls her ‘Rhee’ because when she was little she couldn’t say her name. Her dad will call her ‘Rhia’ occasionally, and her Uncle Tony calls her ‘Rhiannie’. She is named after the figure in Celtic myth, which fits with Abby’s personality and McGee’s heritage. She also had no middle name, like her father.


	3. Haircuts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ziva thinks it's time . . . but Tony isn't too sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's always been an idea of mine that one of Tony's favorite physical features of Ziva's (discounting the obvious) is her hair, so I also thought that that might carry over to their kids. I'd already decided that Tony's special time with Tali involved brushing her hair, so this kinda just made sense to me. I hope it makes sense to you, too.

“Tony, can I talk to you in the bedroom?” Ziva asked, looking up from where she was playing with Katie on the floor. Tali was next to them flipping through a picture book.

               “Uh, sure,” Tony stood up, setting Zachary down in his playpen.

               “We’ll be right back, honey,” Ziva said to Katie, ruffling Tali’s hair as she rose. “Stay right here, okay?” Tali and Katie both nodded.

               “What’s up?” Tony asked when they were in the bedroom.

               Ziva, who’d been preceding him into the room, spun around and crashed her lips to his. Tony barely had time to push the door closed before she completely surprised him. She kissed him for a few minutes, but eventually Tony figured that something was up.

               “What do you want, Zi?” he mumbled into her lips. “You only kiss me like this when you want something.”

               “That’s not true,” Ziva said, pulling herself closer to him, “I can think of at least three separate occasions just this month when I kissed you like this.”

               “Yeah, but you wanted something,” Tony pointed out, smiling. “And this is not the time for what you wanted on those other three occasions.” Ziva smirked and kissed him again.

               “Okay, now I'm really suspicious,” Tony pulled back gently.

               Ziva sighed, annoyed, and moved away from him to sit on the edge of the bed. “It’s time, Tony,” she said, relenting and getting to the point.

               “Time for what?” Tony asked nervously.

               “The girls need to get their hair cut,” Ziva said, bracing herself for Tony’s imminent outrage.

               “No way,” Tony said immediately.

               “Tony—”

               “We are not cutting their hair!” Tony said angrily.

               “Follow me,” Ziva said, leading him back to the living room. She scooped up Katie, surprising the little girl, who yelped as her mother carried her into the bathroom.

               “ _Mommy_ ,” Katie complained.

               “Hush a minute, tateleh,” Ziva said, setting her on the counter in front of the mirror. “Tony, they’ve never had a haircut. They have split ends and it’s all uneven. It’s getting hard for Katie to see. She couldn’t play earlier because she had to hold her hair back with one hand.”

               “Then use one of those pretty clips!”

               Ziva ignored Tony, turning to her daughter, “Katie Ann, would you like a haircut?” she ran her fingers through Katie’s curls. “We can get it a little shorter and out of your eyes.”

               Katie shrugged reluctantly and looked at her parents in the mirror. “Will it make Daddy sad?” she asked in a small voice.

               Tony opened his mouth but Ziva cut him off, “No, it won’t. If you really want a haircut your father would never be selfish and try to keep you from doing it.” Katie just shrugged again, so Ziva carried her back into the living room where Tali was still on the floor and looking at them curiously.

               “And what about Tali?” Ziva demanded, gesturing angrily at her. “You spend half an hour every morning and night brushing her hair until she cries!”

               “You're just upset that she won’t let you brush it!” Tony snapped back. It was true that only Tony brushed Tali’s hair. Tali had very fine and wavy hair, so it appeared to be about two inches longer than her twin’s more curly locks. She was also very tender headed, and since her hair tended to tangle if you so much as looked at it funny. Brushing it out took a gentle touch, and Ziva was used to more unruly hair.

               Ziva glared at Tony for a few minutes before gathering Katie more securely in her arms. “Katie, Tali, we’re going to go get your hair cut.” She said, grabbing a bag for the girls.

               Tony grabbed a bewildered (and frankly scared) Tali. “No,” he said.

               Ziva’s eyes flashed dangerously. “Anthony DiNozzo, this is not up for debate!” she said through her teeth.

               “Well I’m not letting you take them!” Tony countered defiantly.

               “Not letting me?!?” Ziva’s jaw worked for a minute as she tried to form words to express her outrage. “They are _my_ daughters!”

               “Mine too!” Tony hugged Tali closer to his chest as if he was afraid that Ziva would try to take her from him.

               But Ziva didn’t try anything; she just stormed out of the house with Katie.

 

~o0o~

 

               Nobody said a word in the first few minutes following the door slamming shut. Then Tali looked up at her father, eyes wide, “Is Mommy gonna leave and take Katie far away?” she asked solemnly.

               “No! Not at all,” Tony said quickly. “If your mommy was going to leave, she’d take you and Zachary with her, not just Katie.”

               Tali started to cry.

               “Maisie, what’s wrong?” Tony pulled her into his lap.

               “You called him Zachary,” she said through her tears. “You never do that.”

               “Yeah, you’re right. You notice everything, don’t you?” Tony took a deep breath. “Just a few minutes ago I did a not so nice thing and it upset your mom.”

               “What did you do?” Tali rubbed her nose, still crying slightly.

               “I was selfish about you and Katie getting haircuts. It was stupid. I just let my temper get the better of me, and I shouldn’t have,” Tony explained. He paused. “Do you want to know why I call your brother Andrew?” he asked. Tali shrugged, but she stopped crying, so Tony launched into the story.

 

~o0o~

 

               _Ziva looked crossly over her large stomach at her husband. “No,” she said flatly._

_“Aw, c’mon, sweetcheeks,” Tony begged, flashing his signature smile._

_“I am not naming my son Anthony DiNozzo III,” Ziva said crossly._

_“Why not? We could call him the Turd!” Tony said excitedly._

_“_ No _!” Ziva snapped, her patience worn thin from six months of pregnancy. She was getting to the point that she just wanted the baby_ out.

_“Well, what do you want to name the little guy?” Tony asked._

_“I’ve always liked Zachary. It’s a good strong Hebrew name,” Ziva said._

_Tony considered. “I could go for Zachary. But you know what I like better?” Ziva raised an eyebrow. “Andrew,” Tony proposed. “It’s almost Anthony, but it’s not.”_

_“_ Tony _,” Ziva complained, rolling her eyes._

_“Just think about it,” Tony said._

_“Okay, I will,” Ziva sighed, “Let’s move on to middle names. I was thinking . . .”_

_“Jethro,” they said together, smiling at each other._

_“And that brings us back to the first name,” Ziva said tiredly._

~o0o~

 

               “It took a lot for your mother and I to decide on Andrew’s name, and I still call him what I want to. The important thing is that we solved the problem, and we’ll solve this one too,” Tony finished, kissing Tali on the head. “Will you go play in your room while I try to fix this?” Tali nodded and hopped out of his lap.

               Two hours later, Ziva came in the door with Katie on her hip. Tony could glance at her and tell she was braced for anything. Her shoulders were tense and Tony knew if she kept that up she’d get a tension headache.

               Tony wasn’t sure what to do about his wife, so he turned to Katie. “Hey, baby, let me see your hair,” he said. Ziva did not say a word, but let him take their daughter from her. “I love your haircut, Katie-Bug,” Tony said, running his fingers through her shorter hair. It was cut so that her curls brushed her shoulders. “Why don’t you go show your sister your new ‘do while Mommy and I talk.” He put Katie down and she ran off. Turning to Ziva, he outstretched his hand slightly.

               She looked hesitant, but let him take her hand and led her to the couch. “I’m sorry,” Tony said bluntly. Ziva began to say something, but Tony out a hand over her mouth to stop her. “No, wait,” he said, “I was selfish and stupid and a jerk and I am really sorry and I love you and I hope you can forgive me. I love the life you’ve given me and the two great girls with haircuts and a son who I can only hope can learn from my mistakes and be a better man than I am and—”

               “Tony,” Ziva interrupted quietly, “Tony, you are a great man and Zachary has no chance of anything but a wonderful future with you as a role model. You just get caught up in fighting with me sometimes,” she added.

               “And two, soon to be three, little pairs of ears hear everything,” Tony smiled ruefully, “I am sorry.”

               “It’s okay, my Little Hairy Butt,” Ziva kissed his cheek. “I do not like fighting,” she paused, “Did you say _two_ girls with haircuts?”

                “Uh, yeah,” Tony grabbed Ziva’s hand again and pulled her to her feet. “Follow me. I have something to show you.”

               They went into each of the girls’ rooms first and, not finding them in either, they checked the bathroom. Katie and Tali were standing on their stepstools in front of the mirror. Tali was lightly touching her sister’s new short hair, but to Ziva’s surprise Katie was also admiring her sister’s hair.

               Tali’s hair was about an inch shorter and cut straight across her back. It was just barely dry from where it had to be wetted to weigh out the waves. Her hair looked a million times better than it did before because the dead ends and unevenness were gone. Ziva also noticed the light brown curls on the floor of the bathroom.

               “Did _you_ cut her hair?” Ziva asked incredulously.

               “Oh, uh, yeah. I haven’t cleaned up yet.” Tony said sheepishly. “Do you like it?”

               “Do you like it, honey?” Ziva asked Tali.

               “Yes, Mommy,” Tali said, locking eyes with Tony. “Daddy did a good job.”

               “Then I like it too,” Ziva said ruffling the subject of their conversation.

               “Does this mean that you and Daddy are not fighting?” Katie asked.

               “Yes, it does,” Ziva said.

               Tony whooped and wrapped his arms around all three of his girls, kissing each one of them on top off their heads one by one. “I love all of you,” he said, “But, Ziva, you are definitely not allowed to cut your hair. Ever.”

               “ _Tony_.”


	4. Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhiannon just wants to be a big girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my lovely red-head friend for giving me this idea!

McGee pushed the shopping cart down the cereal aisle in the grocery store. “Okay, can you pick out something for breakfast?” he asked the occupants of his cart.

               The five year old tried to clamber out of the near empty basket of the cart by climbing up the side. McGee rushed forward to grab her before she fell on her head, lifting his daughter safely into his arms.

               “ _Daddy_ ,” she complained as she struggled to get out of his grip, her brown pigtails slapping him in the face.

               “Hang on, Annabelle, calm down,” McGee said as he placed her firmly on her feet. Annabelle immediately moved toward her favorite cereal. “Don’t run off!” McGee said, grabbing her hand and pulling her back toward him.

               “Daddy?” the little girl in the seat of the cart spoke up.

               “Yeah, Rhia?” McGee turned to give her his attention.

               “Why can’t I get down?” Rhiannon asked.

               “Because Momma isn’t here right now. There’s two of you and only one of me,” McGee tried to explain. Abby had taken Ally across the store to pick up art supplies. Her last words to McGee before she left him alone with their daughters had been ‘I’m trusting you to get what’s left on the list without any major crises, Timmy.’ McGee really didn’t want to disappoint her.

               “But I’m a big girl,” Rhiannon pleaded, kicking her legs.

               “I know, sweetie, but—”

               “Pleeeease?” Rhiannon put on her pouty face, blinking her green eyes at McGee. He groaned inwardly. He never could refuse Abby when she made that face, either. Rhiannon had learned at a young age how to manipulate her daddy.

               “Alright, but you need to stay right here by me,” McGee relented sternly, placing Rhiannon next to Annabelle (who’d thankfully not tried to escape). “Now, both of you, pick out your cereal,” he tried to sound authoritative.

               Just then a large lady with, count ‘em, six rambunctious children swept by. McGee grabbed his daughters’ hands to keep them from being run over by the rowdy family.

               “Let go!” Annabelle whined, trying to pull her hand out of his. Reluctantly, McGee did after the aisle was clear again.

               Rhiannon walked straight up to the closest shelf, determined to be a big girl. Annabelle, on the other hand, took off to the end of aisle. “Anna!” McGee took a step in her direction before remembering Rhiannon behind him. He spun on his heels, but his youngest daughter was gone.

 

~o0o~

 

               McGee processed the situation in a second, scooped up Annabelle, and strapped her into the shopping cart’s seat. She squirmed and shrieked, but McGee spoke over her, “Annabelle, honey, I need you to be quiet. Your sister is in trouble.”

               Annabelle frowned, “What did Rhee do?”

               “No, not that kind of trouble. She got lost. We have to find her,” McGee clarified, pushing the cart in the direction he thought Rhiannon had gone. Annabelle really wasn’t a bad kid, especially when she knew something was wrong, so she sat quietly as McGee charged up and down the aisles growing more frantic my by the second.

               After about five minutes of combing through the crowd, McGee was about to give up and contact the store security. But before he could, the intercom crackled to life. _“Timothy McGee!”_ McGee winced at his angry wife’s voice, “Report to the customer service desk. _Now_!”

               Annabelle’s eyes widened, “Momma’s mad at you.”

               “Yeah, thanks for telling me,” McGee said, turning to car toward the front.

               “You’re welcome,” Annabelle said seriously.

               Abby was waiting for him, eyes flashing. Ally, and a cart of painting supplies, stood off to the side. But McGee was more focused on a little girl holding her mom’s hand and clutching a box of Pop-Tarts to her chest.

               Rhiannon looked pitiful. She gazed up at her dad with her big green eyes, “I’m sorry, Daddy,” she said, “I didn’t want cereal.”

               “That’s okay, Rhia,” McGee gently took the box from her hands and put it in the cart. “You just scared me.”

               “I’m sorry,” Rhiannon said again, looking miserable.

               “It’s not your fault,” Abby broke in, “You’re father should have been watching you.”

               McGee stood up, “I swear I only liked away for a second—”

               “Save it, Tim,” Abby said, rolling her eyes, “Just finish getting the food. I’ll take the girls with me.” She lifted Rhiannon into the seat in her cart.

               “Uh, okay,” McGee sighed.

               “I’ll help you,” Ally said, moving to stand by McGee.

               “Thanks,” McGee watched Abby walk off, “I’m in some hot water, aren’t I?”

               “Yeah,” Ally smiled, “But she was just scared. She’ll be over it by the time we get home,” she paused, “And if she’s not, I’m sure you know how to get back into her good graces,” Ally winked mischievously.

               McGee laughed, “You’ve been spending too much time with Tony.” After their giggles had subsided, he shook his head, running his fingers through his hair. Who knew that after five years of being a father, he still wouldn’t be able to handle a grocery store?


	5. Girl's Night/Food Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ally, Ziva, and Abby go out shopping, leaving Tony and McGee alone with the kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea for this chapter was given to me by Mavis Vermillion Dreyar over on fanfiction.net (where I posted this fic first) so I want to credit her.

Ziva looked up from her desk as she heard the signature sound of Abby’s platforms clunking toward her.

               “We’re still on for Friday, right?” Abby asked, perching herself on the corner of McGee’s desk. She’d come up to ask her husband a question, but Ziva was the only one in the bullpen.

               “As far as I know,” Ziva replied, turning back to her paperwork. “If you are sure about leaving the kids with Tony and Tim.”

               “They can handle it,” Abby said confidently. “It’s gotta be better than that awful babysitter Katie punched, anyway.”

               “But think about the time McGee lost Rhiannon,” Ziva pointed out.

               Gibbs walking up from nowhere, as usual, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you didn’t trust your husband, Ziver.”

               Ziva smiled wryly, “With my heart? Yes. With my kids? I haven’t decided yet.”

               Abby was still laughing when Tony and McGee got off the elevator a few minutes later. “What’s so funny?” McGee asked, pecking Abby’s cheek as he sat down.

               “And why do I feel like it’s about me?” Tony added.

 

~o0o~

 

               That Friday, Ziva was just getting the kids sitting down to eat when the doorbell rang. “Tony!” she hollered, snapping Zachary’s bib into place.

               “I got it!” came a reply from the recesses of the house.

               In a matter of seconds the number of people in the kitchen doubled. “Ally!” exclaimed Katie, dropping her spoon, which bounced off the corner of the table and landed on the floor.

               Ally chuckled, picking up the spoon and depositing it in the sink, “Hey, Katie Ann,” she ruffled Katie’s hair. “How’s one of my favorite mini ninjas?”

               Katie smiled toothily, “I get to stay up tonight! Are you staying with us?”

               “No, sorry, I’m going out with our moms tonight,” Ally replied. She turned to Ziva, “Thanks again for helping me pick out a dress.”

               “Thank you for asking,” Ziva said, “I haven’t had a good girls’ day in—” she glanced at her daughters, “four years.”

               Tali looked up, “What about us? We’re girls.”

               “I meant grown up girls,” Ziva clarified.

               “Ally isn’t grown up yet,” Tali pointed out.

               “I wonder where she got that tendency to argue, Tony,” McGee said sarcastically.

               Tony rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry,” he said to Tali and Katie, “Rhiannon and Annabelle and Uncle Tim are gonna stay here. We’re gonna party!” he tried to get them all pumped up.

               Ziva and Abby shared concerned looks as all the children responded enthusiastically to Tony’s words.

               “But first you have to eat those vegetables,” Ziva said sternly to Katie, who’d just pushed them around her plate. “Any _you_ have got to eat your meat,” she added to Tali.

               “But I don’t like it!” the twins complained together. However, they both knew that as soon as Ziva left, Tony wouldn’t make them.

               “Momma?” Rhiannon spoke up from Abby’s arms.

               “Yeah, honey?”

               “Will you be back to tuck me in?” Rhiannon clutched her favorite stuffed animal to her chest. It was a hippo, like Bert, but this one was silent so Rhiannon could sleep with it.

               “I don’t know, Rhia, but you have Daddy here,” Abby put her fingers under Rhiannon’s chin to make her look up, “You’ll be alright with Daddy and Uncle Tony, won’t you?”

               Rhiannon didn’t say anything, just looked at the floor. Abby kissed her youngest daughter’s head right in between her pigtails and put her down. “I know you will.”

               “Okay, kids, what do you say he kick them out so we can have fun?” Tony asked.

               “Yeah!” little voices cried together.

               Abby, Ziva, and Ally did not have much choice as they were chased to the door.

 

~o0o~

 

               “Alianna, I want all the details,” Ziva said as she pulled out of the driveway.

               “Uh,” Ally stalled nervously.

               “She got asked to prom!” Abby said proudly. Ally blushed.

               “What’s his name? What’s he like?” Ziva grinned.

               “His name is Clark. He’s kinda nerdy, but really sweet,” Ally said, ducking her head and tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear.

               Ziva shot a glance at Abby as she drove, “Does McGee approve?”

               “They’ve never met,” Abby said. “But when he comes to pick her up, I'm sure Tim will be in full on overprotective-mode,” she paused, “Who am I kidding? I probably will too.”

               Ziva laughed, “Poor Ally, she’s the first one to have to deal with that.” Abby laughed too, but Ally felt a little twinge of fear for Clark’s sake.

 

~o0o~

 

               Unbeknownst to the three women, Tony and McGee were having a similar conversation.

               “Apparently, his name is Clark, and he likes ‘video games and computer science’ according to Ally,” McGee was telling Tony. The two fathers stood in the kitchen, keeping an eye on the girls who were watching TV in the living room. Zachary was already in bed.

               “So? What’s the problem? He sounds like you,” Tony shrugged.

               “What’s that supposed to mean?”

               “Think about it, McOverprotective,” Tony rolled his eyes, “What were you thinking about when you were in high school?”

               “Not very reassuring, Tony,” McGee said, “I may have been a nerd, but I was still a teenage boy.”

               “Yeah, well, compare that to what _I_ was thinking,” Tony finished.

               McGee sighed, “You’re right, actually.”

               Tony grinned, “As always.”  But McGee still didn’t look very reassured. “Look, just make sure he knows what you’ll do to him if he messes up.”

               “How do I do that?”

               “When he shows up, give him a really strong handshake, and just stare into his eyes,” Tony elaborated, “And make sure Ally isn’t in the room while you interrogate him about his intentions. Then, when she comes in, make sure he has the right reaction, you know, not too sleazy. It’s simple,” he paused, “Oh, and wear your gun the entire time.”

               “That part won’t be a problem,” McGee said bitterly. “Where did you get all this advice from? Or, should I say, what movie?” he asked pointedly after a minute.

               “Not a movie, Probie. Think about how many girls’ dads I had to meet. I learned how to pass all their tests, even though my intentions were not always, uh, pure.” Tony explained, popping a carrot into his mouth from the stack still left on Katie’s plate.

               McGee swallowed, “What if Clark is that way?”

               Tony laughed, “It’ll be fine, Tim. Ally is a big girl, who’ll make good choices. You’re freaking out too much.”

               “Oh yeah? What would you do if it was Tali or Katie?”

               Tony’s face hardened, “That’s the difference. They’ll never leave the house with a boy until they’re thirty-five.”

               Before McGee could respond, a crash and a shout came from the living room.

              

~o0o~

 

               “What about this one?” Abby held up a pink sparkly dress for inspection.

               “Um,” Ally looked at the four other dressed Ziva was currently holding. “Let’s just try those on and see what we think.”

               “Okay,” Abby said, sounding slightly disappointed. She replaced the dress on the hanger.

               The first three dresses were busts. The one she tried on first was a deep green, one shouldered number that Ziva picked out. It was beautiful, but didn’t fit Ally’s slim body. Ally had always had trouble finding clothes of any type, let alone dresses, because she barely had any hips, and her upper body was equally petite. Unfortunately, the green dress was made for someone with a bigger bust and butt.

               The second dress, picked out by Abby, was slightly too small and the next size up was slightly too big. That dress had been Abby’s favorite of the litter, with a black on white color scheme.

               The third dress Ally grabbed, thinking it would be good, but when she tried it on, all three of them decided that it was just plain ugly.

               Ally couldn’t remember who picked out the last dress, but as she prepared to try it on, she was kind of disheartened. She’d never admit it to anyone, but she liked Clark more than she’d let on. As the shimmering material slid over her body, however, she knew she’d found the one.

               Abby gasped when Ally came out of the dressing room, and Ziva’s eyes widened, but she didn’t make a sound. Ally ignored both of them and faced the mirror. This dress was a light—almost white—blue-green that shimmered in the light. The design was simple; the only thing special about it was the high-low skirt. Ally smiled widely.

               “I don’t even look twelve!” she said happily.

               “Of course not,” Ziva said, stepping forward to adjust the strap, “You look like a beautiful young woman. Clark is going to feel like the luckiest boy at prom.”

               Abby pulled Ally into a tight hug, “Alianna Nicole Roberts-McGee, your father is never going to let you out of the house in that!” Abby said excitedly.

               Ziva said kindly, “If he tries to keep you from going just call me.”

               “Go take it off, and we’ll go find some shoes and maybe some jewelry,” Abby hung the three rejected dresses in the return section.

               Ally looked up, surprised, “Really?”

               “Duh, Ally, you’ve gotta have everything. This is _prom_.” Abby said, not quite catching the look on Ally’s face.

               “Oh, but I don’t want you to have to spend too much—”

               “Nonsense!” Abby scoffed, “Do you think we’d take you dress shopping if we didn’t intend to get shoes and a nice necklace and maybe some hair clips and—”

               “Okay, okay,” Ally interrupted. “I get the picture,” she gave Abby a hug, “Thanks so much!”

 

~o0o~

 

               “Hey!” Tony yelled, trying to get everyone’s attention. But when they turned to look at him they erupted into noise again because the mashed potatoes chose that moment to fall from the ceiling and land on his head.

               A few minutes earlier, McGee and Tony heard the kids screaming and ran into the living room to find Katie and Annabelle fighting.

               “What’s wrong?” McGee asked, picking up his daughter to get her away from Katie.

               “Annabelle said that Ally likes her better!” Katie said, outrage apparent in her voice.

               “She does!” Annabelle stuck out her tongue at Katie.

               “I think they’re being silly,” Tali said in her best mommy voice.

               “Anna’s not silly!” Rhiannon defended her big sister.

               “Okay!” Tony hollered, “Everyone take a deep breath.” He turned to Annabelle and Katie, “Ally loves you munchkins equally; you can ask her yourself. And you two,” he pointed at Tali, “It’s not nice to call people names, even if they are being silly.”

               Katie crossed her arms and stomped into the kitchen. McGee, thinking it was over, put Annabelle down just in time for Katie to return with a handful of carrots from her dinner plate that Tony had left on the table. With a battle cry, Katie launched the carrots at Annabelle. They bounced silently off her head.

               Annabelle shrieked, charging at Katie and chasing her back into the kitchen.

               This all happened before Tony and McGee could react, so by the time they skidded into the kitchen, food was flying everywhere.

               Of course, Rhiannon couldn’t let anyone mess with her big sister, so after the adults left the living room she started gathering carrots off the floor for a counter attack on Katie.

               Once Tali figured out what Rhiannon planned to do with the dirty carrots, she intervened, which left the two girls scrambling for the veggies on the living room floor, while Tony and McGee tried to pull apart Katie and Annabelle, who were still lobbing food at each other.

               By the time the mashed potatoes fell on Tony’s head, the entire house was trashed. Tali and Rhiannon had knocked over a lamp in the living room before McGee realized that they were also fighting and ran to the living room.

               “All four of you should think for a minute,” Tony called over the racket. “What are your moms going to do when the see this?”

               “That is a very good question,” Ziva’s voice came from the doorway. Immediately all four kids (and Tony and McGee) froze. Rhiannon even began crying.

               “Ziva!” Tony exclaimed, trying to wipe the mashed potatoes off of his face.

               Abby and Ziva glanced at each other. “I’ll take the living room,” Abby said, joining McGee and leaving Ziva with Tony.

               “Whose idea was it to have a food fight, Tony?” Ziva asked after Abby exited, surveying the room.

               “Katie started it,” Annabelle said helpfully.

               “Nuh-uh! You did!” Katie started getting fired up again.

               “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Tony grabbed Katie’s arm, “You did throw the first carrot, Katie-Bug.”

               “ _Why_ did you throw a carrot?” Ziva added.

               Katie looked at Ally, who stood frozen in the door. “Annabelle said that Ally likes her better than me.”

               Ziva glanced at Ally before saying, “Ally doesn’t pick favorites, although right now her favorite is probably Zachary because he didn’t get in a fight.”

               Ally stepped forward, “What’s wrong with you guys? I thought you were best friends?”

               They just gave identical sheepish shrugs.

               “I think you should apologize,” Ziva said sternly.

               Katie turned to Annabelle, “I’m sorry, Anna.”

               “I’m sorry too,” Annabelle replied, pulling Katie into an Abby-sized hug.

               Katie turned back to Ally when Annabelle released her. “Do you really like Zachary better?”

 

~o0o~

 

               After McGee and Abby took their gaggle home and the twins were in bed, Ziva made it very clear to Tony that he was nowhere near out of the woods yet. She stopped him at the bedroom door.

               “You are not allowed to come to bed with me until the kitchen and living room are spotless. And don’t try to, either,” she warned.

               “But it was McGee’s fault too!” Tony complained.

               “And I'm sure that Abby is taking care of him as we speak. You better get to work if you want to get any sleep, Tony,” Ziva shut the bedroom door in her husband’s face, smiling to herself.

               Ziva had been in bed for about three hours before Tony came in tentatively. “Zi? You awake?”

               She actually was because she had a hard time sleeping without Tony’s chest to use as a pillow, but she grumbled as she turned the bedside light on as if she’d been asleep. “What, Tony?”

               “I cleaned,” Tony said, “Can I come to bed now?”

               “I suppose,” Ziva relented and Tony practically bounded into bed beside her. “But,” Ziva held up a hand, “If I find one crumb where it doesn’t belong tomorrow, you will be sleeping on the couch for a week.”

               “Yes, ma’am,” Tony said. Ziva nodded as went to put her head on his chest, but she was suddenly hit by the humor of the situation. Pretty soon Tony was laughing right along with her.

               “I can’t believe they actually got into a _food fight_!” Ziva said between giggles.

               “You should’ve seen the look on Annabelle’s face when Katie nabbed her with the carrots!” Tony added. Ziva shook her head, laughter subsiding a few minutes later. “We made some strange kids, Zi,” Tony said after he kissed her goodnight.

 Ziva chuckled again and snuggled into him. “Yes, we did. I blame you.”

Tony smiled and turned the light out. He fell asleep to the sound of his wife’s snores, laughter still ringing in his ears


	6. Ray

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Tali and Katie are a bit older, they find something in one of Ziva's old books. . .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea came to me because I really wanted to write something where the kids were older, but I wasn't sure what. Then I watched the episodes with Ray's whole arc and this came out of it. Tali and Katie are 12 and Zachary is 9.

“Hey, Ima?” Katie came into the kitchen, a small smile on her face.

               Ziva looked up suspiciously. The only time her twelve year old daughter called her ‘Ima’ was when she wanted something. Ziva didn’t say anything, just raised an eyebrow.

               Katie hurried on, “So, I was wondering if you had any Hebrew books?”

               “Why?” Ziva put down the chicken she’d been cutting.

               “I want to brush up on my Hebrew, that’s all,” Katie replied, managing to sound defensive.

               Ziva weighed the pros and cons in her head. After a moment’s deliberation, she said, “There is a box in the garage.”

               Katie spun happily on her heel and sped for the garage before her mother could ask any more questions. “Thanks, Ima!” she called over her shoulder.

               She practically ran over Tony on her way out of the room. “What was that about?” he asked, snitching a French fry from a pan on the stove.

               Ziva shrugged, “She’s your daughter.”

               “Last time I checked it takes two to tango, sweetcheeks.”

               “Yes, but only one of yours could plan something devious with an old Hebrew book.”

               Now it was Tony’s turn to shrug, “How bad can it be?” Ziva raised an eyebrow, much like she had done with her daughter. Tony chuckled and kissed her cheek. “We’ll find out soon enough,” he said, nabbing another fry.

~o0o~

 

               Tali’s peaceful reading was interrupted by a banging knock on her door. Before she could even look up, her sister was bouncing onto the bed beside her.

               “You know, the point of knocking is so the person inside can say ‘come in,’” Tali rolled her eyes and stuck a bookmark in her book, putting it out of harm’s way on the dresser.

               “Oh, c’mon, if it wasn’t for me, you’d have no social interaction at all,” Katie scoffed. “But I’m not here to argue. I found something important.”

               Tali shook her head and focused on the book in Katie’s hand. “Why do you have one of mom’s old books?” She took it from her twin to inspect it further. From what Tali could tell, it was some kind of mystery novel. “Can you even read this?” she asked, waving it in the air. They both knew that Tali’s command of the Hebrew language (and Italian for that matter) was way better than that of Katie, who generally didn’t have the time for or interest in foreign languages. “And what do you need it for?”

               “My book report.”

               Tali frowned, “I’m pretty sure that Mrs. Williams wants it done on and English book, Katie.”

               “She never _said_ that,” Katie pointed out.

               Tali sighed, giving up on dissuading her, “But can you read it?” she repeated.

               “Mostly. But I let you get me off topic! I can definitely read the important part in the front,” Katie opened the front cover to reveal a handwritten note.

               “What? Is it a love letter from dad or something?” Tali peered closer.

               “Not from dad.”

               “ _My dearest Ziva, I hope this finds you well_ ,” Tali read out loud.

               “How cliché can you get, right?” Katie giggled but Tali shushed her.

               “ _Despite your boss’s unfortunate view on apologies, I know that you don’t share the sentiment. For that I am grateful._ ”

The sisters shared a look. They knew perfectly well about Grandpa Gibbs’ rule six.

               “ _I also know that you have received my other letters. You’ve read my other apologies, so I will not fill the limited space with more, but know they are in my heart, unwritten. I miss you, my sweet fiery Ziva, and every day I regret what happened between us. I regret putting my job before you, I regret that my job interfered with your morals, but I mostly regret that you would have said yes. You still can. The box is no longer empty. –All my thoughts, Ray_.” Tali frowned, “Who’s Ray?”

               Katie shrugged, “What do we do now?” she asked.

               “What do you mean?”

               “I mean, what do we do?” Katie repeated, “Should we tell mom we found it?”

               “I don’t think she’d be happy about us reading it,” Tali said slowly. Katie was silent for a minute. “What?” Tali asked, sensing that something was wrong.

               “I just noticed. Look at the copyright date on this book,” Katie pointed to it. “We were four when this book came out.”

               Tali realized what Katie was getting at. “You think that mom was cheating on dad.” It was a statement, not a question or even an accusation. Her voice showed nothing of the disbelief that Katie half-expected to hear. There was a pause while the girls looked at each other. “It looks possible,” Tali said eventually, “But I don’t believe it.”

               Tali waited for Katie to agree that their mother would never even consider such a thing, but Katie was silent. Tali wasn’t surprised at her sister’s hesitancy. She had a tendency to look at people with brutally honest eyes. She saw faults, but that didn’t mean she was any less likely to forgive people for them.

               Before either girl could get their thoughts together, they were interrupted by another knock on the door. “Yes?” they called together, even though it was Tali’s room.

               Zachary opened the door, “It’s time for dinner.” The boy of nine stopped in the doorway. He knew how touchy his sisters (mostly Katie) could be about his coming into their rooms.

               Tali and Katie silently agreed without even looking at each other that they should table their discussion for later. Tali stretched and headed for the door, “Thanks, buddy. At least one of my siblings knows how to knock,” she said pointedly, ruffling Zachary’s hair as she passed.

               “I knocked just fine, thanks,” Katie protested as she hurried to keep up.

               “That’s right, it was the waiting for a response that you had trouble with,” Tali rolled her eyes.

               “What are you arguing about now?” Tony asked as they came into the kitchen.

               “Katie doesn’t wait for Tali to say ‘come in’ when she knocks,” Zachary said matter-of-factly, plopping down at the table. “See, it’s already like they share a room. Katie should move in with Tali and I should get Katie’s room,” he added, in the tone of someone reciting an oft-repeated argument.

               Ziva’s eyes were the only thing that betrayed her amusement as she said, “That would mean I could get my library back.”

               “Wait a minute. You had a library for four years before Andrew was born. I think I deserve my man cave.” Tony argued, playing along.

               “Yeah!” Zachary agreed excitedly.

               Katie started to protest, but Tali spoke up, “They’re kidding, calm down.”

               “Aww,” Zachary pouted, causing everyone else to laugh.

               After dinner and some brief deliberation, Tali and Katie cornered their parents in the living room, Katie clutching the book behind her back. Zachary was in the bath, so there would be no interruptions or little ears hearing what they shouldn’t.

               “Can we talk?” Katie asked nervously. She needed reassurance that her mother had not agreed with, encouraged, or fooled around with this Ray person while she was married to her father.

               “Of course,” Ziva patted the couch beside her, but Katie didn’t move closer, so Tali didn’t either. She understood that Katie was struggling with this. Tali, on the other hand, hadn’t believed for a second that Ziva would do anything to hurt Tony. “What’s wrong?” Ziva asked, becoming concerned.

               Katie looked reluctant to say anything, so Tali spoke up for her. “Katie found this-” Tali took the book from her sister’s hand and opened it to the note, “and she is afraid that Dad didn’t know about it.”

               Ziva took the book rom Tali, and read the note. Both girls noticed that Tony did not even try to read over Ziva’s shoulder. He already know what was there.

               Ziva however, looked only resigned, “I have never seen this note before.” She turned to Tony, “But I recognize the book. I had no desire to read anything from Ray, so I didn’t even open it.”

               “Who-who is Ray?” Kate spoke for the first time.

               Ziva sighed, “He was one of my boyfriends before your father and I started dating. He was not a good man.”

               “But, the copyright—” Katie started.

               “He got into some trouble,” Ziva cut her off to explain, “and by the time he got out of it, I was happily married with two little girls and a baby boy. He didn’t understand that I had found something much better than him, so he sent letters and presents, like this book. I never read any of them.”

               “I did,” Tony said bluntly, “Just in case we could lock him up for aggravated stalking.”

               “What did he do? To get him in trouble, I mean,” Tali asked.

               Tony and Ziva shared a look, “Let’s just say that his job gave him certain freedoms that he used in ways that weren’t right,” Tony tried to explain without using the words ‘murder’ or ‘CIA’. Unfortunately, his children were too smart for that.

               “He killed someone, didn’t he?” Katie asked. Tali nodded. She’d been thinking the same thing.

               “Yes, he did,” Ziva said quietly.

               “Did he break your heart?” Katie seemed to have a knack for asking loaded questions. Tali elbowed her sister in the ribs, but Ziva answered anyway.

               “It was complicated, honey. He broke my heart so many times that by the time this happened, I’d almost run out of anything to break.”

               “Oh,” Katie ran forward to give both her parents a hug, Tali a half-step behind her.

               When hugs had been passes all around and Katie and Tali ended up squeezed between Tony and Ziva on the couch, Ziva said seriously, “I am proud of you girls.”

               “Why?”

               “For coming to us with something like this,” Ziva replied and Tony nodded. “You can ask us about anything. We might not be able to answer every question, but you can always ask.”

               “Okay.”

               “Kay.”

               “Good,” Ziva effectively ended that conversation, “Tali, would you go tell your brother to get out of the bath? And, Katie, I believe you have a book report due.” Katie opened her mouth, but Ziva cut her off, “We have a wide selection of books _in English_ for you to pick from.”

               Katie sighed, “Yes ma’am.”

 The twins both stood to leave, Katie muttering something about Ziva spending too much time with Grandpa Gibbs, when Ziva called, “Caitlin Ann DiNozzo.”

“Yes?”

“The report must be written in English as well.”

Katie gave and even louder sigh, “Yes ma’am.”

              

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've moved on to other projects, but, knowing my muse, I'll probably write something else for this at some point. I have more chapter ideas planned and everything, so it will probably happen eventually. But, until then, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!


	7. Clark's Conundrum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clark planned a date with Ally, but something else came up . . .

               “What’s it like to be in love?”

               Ally looked up sharply. She fixed her gaze on the curious faces in the back seat by way of the review mirror. “Who says I’m in love?” she asked carefully, turning her focus back to the road.

               Annabelle gave Ally her I’m-not-stupid-so-don’t-treat-me-like-I-am face, a trait she inherited from her mother. Annabelle was fourteen now, so Ally probably should have expected this kind of curiosity. Rhiannon was only eleven, but she too regarded Ally with a careful and expectant expression. “You’re in love,” Annabelle told her older sister matter-of-factly.

               Ally wasn’t sure what to say, “It’s hard to explain,” she said, “And I know you don’t want to hear this, but, take it from me, you’d be better off waiting to fall in love. I was lucky enough to meet Clark in high school, but that doesn’t usually happen.”

               Annabelle sighed, “I know, I know. I have to wait to drive, wait to date, wait to stay up past eleven.”

               “Cheer up,” Ally hid a knowing smile, “It’s worth the wait, I promise.”

               Annabelle touched the end of one of her pigtails self-consciously, “If it ever happens.”

               “I’m sure you’ll stay up past eleven at some point in your life, Anna,” Ally joked, not quite sure what else to say. Abby and Ziva were the ones who’re good at this type stuff.

               “You know what I meant,” Annabelle huffed, sounding annoyed.

               Ally thought about how unusual it was for Annabelle to have her hair in pigtails like her mother. Rhiannon dutifully and enthusiastically carried on the tradition over the years, but Annabelle, due to a preoccupation with Rapunzel, kept her hair really long, so pigtails became ‘impractical’ and ‘childish’. Then, two years ago, she’d tried an experiment with Tali (who’d also sported waist length locks at the time) that involved trying to braid their hair together. They’d ended up getting so stuck to each other that they’d had to be cut apart. Annabelle, for one, was extremely frustrated by the fact that two years had passed and her hair was only to her mid back. Today marked the first day she’d done pigtails since she was probably seven. “Yes, I did, and I think you’re mistaken. Just wait, eventually you’ll find the right guy, I promise,” Ally said reassuringly.

               Annabelle blew out a sigh at that. “I think you’re plenty pretty,” Rhiannon said. “But I don’t know why you care about boys right now either.”

               Ally laughed, but immediately regretted it when she saw the look on Annabelle’s face. The sisters rode the rest of the way home in silence.

 

~o0o~

 

               Clark was coming to pick up Ally to take her out (a fact that was probably what prompted Annabelle’s line of questioning in the car) so as soon as they got home, Ally sent Annabelle and Rhiannon to start on their homework while she started getting ready. Abby and McGee were due home in about a half-hour.

               Twenty minutes later, Clark rang the doorbell. “You’re early,” Ally admonished as she opened the door.

               “Sorry, I just couldn’t wait to see your pretty face,” Clark said, giving Ally a kiss.

She rolled her eyes, “You’re full of it.” Clark laughed, and Ally caught his glance toward Annabelle, who was hovering in the doorway. “Don’t mention the pigtails,” Ally whispered in Clark’s ear. He nodded.

“How’s life, Annabelle?” Clark asked, letting go of Ally to sit on the couch. Ally hurried off to her room to finish getting ready.

“Fine,” Annabelle said, but she sounded anything but.

Clark glanced down the hall where Ally had disappeared. “Will you step outside with me? I have a question to ask you.”

 

~o0o~

 

               Ally and Clark were ready to walk out the door when they got the phone call. It was Abby and McGee, so Ally yelled for Rhiannon and Annabelle and put the phone on speaker. Annabelle, to Ally’s surprise, came in from outside with Clark. And she was smiling, which was good news after her mood earlier.

               “Hey, guys,” McGee said

               There was a chorus of ‘hey’s, ‘hi’s and a ‘what’s up, Mr. McGee’ from Clark.

               “Shouldn’t you be almost home by now?” Ally asked hesitantly.

               “We’ve got a case. A bad one.” McGee replied, “Sorry, Ally.”

               “We need you to stay with Anna and Rhia,” That was Abby. She sounded like she was really guilty about asking Ally and Clark to cancel their date night. Ally wasn’t sure why; this kind of thing happened all the time.

               “Okay,” Ally locked eyes with Clark. He looked more than a little crestfallen, but when she looked him, he put on a tense smile.

               “I’m _so_ sorry,” Abby said.

               “It’s fine. No big deal. We’ll just reschedule,” Ally tried to sound convincing. She couldn’t say she wasn’t disappointed.

               “Clark, _you’re_ not allowed to reschedule,” Annabelle said urgently. Clark’s eyes widened, and he gave Annabelle a pointed look.

               Before Ally could question her younger sister’s sudden assertion, McGee broke in, “I’m sorry about this, Clark. I wish it could have been any other time,” Ally’s eyebrows furrowed in confused silence.

               “That’s okay, Mr. M, really,” Clark said, “We’ll figure it out. Just catch the bad guys so it’s all for something.”

               “We’ll try our best,” McGee assured him.

               Abby and Ally groaned in unison as Rhiannon piped up, “Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.”

               “That’s my girl!” Clark enthusiastically high-fived the youngest family member.

               Everyone laughed, effectively killing Ally’s plan to question her family’s strange behavior. “What now?” Rhiannon asked after they’d hung up.

               They all kind of looked at each other. “I’ll go cancel our reservations,” Clark said after a minute.

               “Wait!” Annabelle said with the strange urgency she’d exhibited before, “You can’t!”

               “Why not?” Ally demanded.

               Clark and Annabelle ignored her. “I can’t bring you and Rhiannon to that restaurant,” Clark said.

               “But—”

               “Maybe we can all go somewhere else?” Ally suggested, cutting off Annabelle. “Unless you want to go home now, Clark?”

               “No, of course I’ll stay here with you. I love hanging out with your sisters,” Clark said reassuringly, before disappearing into the kitchen to call the restaurant. Annabelle was right on his heel. “You have to be careful, Bells,” Clark said as he dialed the restaurant.

               She ignored his warning, “You _have_ to do it tonight!”

               “Annabelle . . .”

               “I don’t care about your fancy plans and neither will Ally!” Annabelle got a very stubborn look on her face that reminded Clark of her mother.

               “I’ll think about it,” Clark half-relented, “Now, shoo, so Ally doesn’t suspect.”

               Annabelle gave him a final intense look, and left the room. Clark sighed, trying to figure out what to do.

 

~o0o~

 

               Rhiannon wanted to play a board game. As it turned out, Annabelle had been avoiding playing one with her for weeks. When Ally heard this, she insisted they play, giving Annabelle a stern glare. “You should play with your sister,” Ally said, “When I was your age, I’d have given anything to have a sister.”

               “When you were my age, we adopted you and then you had two,” Annabelle pointed out.

               After they’d played three board games, they were all pretty hungry.

               “McDonalds!” Rhiannon suggested/demanded.

               “Why does she always get to pick everything?” Annabelle complained.

               Ally and Clark exchanged glances. “Where would you like to eat?” Ally asked.

               Annabelle thought for a minute. “McDonalds,” she said finally.

               Ally rolled her eyes, “Okay, let’s load up then.” Annabelle and Rhiannon ran for the car, but Clark hung back with Ally.

               “Are you sure McDonalds is okay?” he asked. “It’s not what we had in mind…”

               Ally smiled, “It’s a far cry from where we were planning to go, but the girls actually agreed for once, so we should do what they want, because that’ll never happen again.”

               Clark laughed, but wasn’t reassured.

               “Plus,” Ally continued, “I like spending time with my sisters. After this summer, I’ll barely see them.” Ally was currently living in an apartment in DC, but after this summer, she planned on moving where she could find a job, which wasn’t necessarily somewhere close by.

               “That’s true,” Clark agreed, leaving unanswered the question of what would happen to the two of them after she moved away.

               Annabelle stuck her head back in the door. “ _C’mon_ , guys, we’re starving!”

               Ally chuckled and followed her to the car.

               McDonalds was basically empty when they arrived. There was one lone family in the corner but other than that, the place was deserted. The girl behind the counter looked like she couldn’t wait to leave, and popped her gum before shouting their order to the cook. The McGee’s and Clark didn’t say a word after they got their food until they’d been sitting for a few minutes.

               Annabelle kept giving Clark pointed looks, so he finally said, “Ally?”

               “Yeah?” Ally looked up from squirting ketchup on her burger.

               Clark chickened out, “Nevermind,” he said.

               Annabelle groaned.

               “What’s going on?” Rhiannon asked, “I’m not stupid. Clark and Annabelle have been hiding something all night. Why won’t you tell me?”

               “I noticed that too,” Ally said, munching on a fry, “I’ve been waiting to be let in on the secret. . .” she trailed off expectantly.

               “Clark told me he liked my pigtails,” Annabelle lied, touching her hair.

               Ally opened her mouth to argue but Clark cut her off, “No, it’s fine, Annabelle. I might as well do this here before I lose my nerve.”

               Clark had been sitting on the edge of the booth so he stood up, but Ally was on the inside next to Annabelle. Clark grabbed Annabelle’s shoulder, pulled her up, and plunked her back down next to Rhiannon.

               Ally watched this with a bemused expression until Clark got down on one knee.

               “Alianna Nicole, I love you,” Clark said. The family in the corner booth stood up to get a better view, and the cashier came out from behind the counter, her mouth open. “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and the best big sister to these two,” he jerked his head at Rhiannon and Annabelle. The former looked stunned and the latter elated. “And you don’t even have to care for them, but you do. I can’t imagine you moving away without me in the fall, and I don’t want to, so the only way I could think to be sure I could follow you anywhere is to propose. So, Ally, will you marry me?”

               Ally looked like she didn’t know what to say. Tears were streaming down her cheek as she nodded, words failing her, and pulled Clark off the floor and onto the hard plastic seat next to her. She kissed him. “Yes,” she said finally. “Of course I will.”

               Rhiannon was smiling broadly, but Annabelle just looked impatient. “Well, show her the ring!” she ordered.

               The open ring box had been placed on the table when Ally manhandled her now-fiancé onto the booth, but now Clark picked it up again and handed it to her. “Do you like it?” he asked uncertainly.

               The ring was simple, silver colored, with one diamond flanked by two sapphires. “I love it,” Ally started crying again. “It’s not too flashy, and it’s not gold.”

               Clark smiled, “I do pay attention when you talk,” he said, “I know you hate gold and huge complicated jewelry.”

               Ally laughed and touched the necklace she was wearing, also a gift from Clark. She threw her arms around him, as the spectators broke into applause. Ally suddenly realized they had an audience. “You _had_ to do it in public, huh?” she muttered, blushing as the spectators stared at them.

               “He wanted to do it at that other restaurant,” Annabelle said matter-of-factly. “There would have been more people there.”

               “You knew about this, you little stinker,” Ally rounded on Annabelle, everything from the afternoon making sense now.

               Annabelle shrugged, “He wanted my blessing.”

               “I got your parents’ too, by the way,” Clark added, “You should probably call them.”

               “Did you know?” Ally asked Rhiannon.

               “No,” she sighed, “No one tells me anything.” Her tone sent everyone in McDonalds laughing. “Now I know what Annabelle meant about not being old enough for anything.”

               Annabelle smiled, “It’s annoying, huh?”

               “Yep,” Rhiannon said enthusiastically. Annabelle gave her sister a sideways hug.

               “We’ll have to grow up together, then.”

               Ally smiled at them, not quite sure how she got so lucky, with a family like her adopted one, and a guy like Clark.


	8. Names

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zachary and Ally both struggle with their future identities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone. I'm not sure if anyone is actually reading this, because I haven't gotten much response, but I'm still writing anyway. :-) I hope you like it!

Ally sat staring at the wedding invitations she’d been writing addresses on.  
Clark Alexander Everett and Alianna Nicole Roberts-McGee  
“What’s wrong?”  
Ally jumped slightly. Clark had come up behind her and noticed her looking down at the invites with a peculiar expression on her face. They were at his apartment, desperately trying to get some of the wedding details taken care of without the intervention of their well-meaning relatives.  
“Nothing,” Ally glanced back at the fancy names embossed on the cardstock.  
“You sure?” Clark sat down next to her, following her gaze.  
“Yep,” Ally picked up the pen again, moving on to the next address before Clark could question her further. He had a way of always asking her if something was wrong, like he was afraid she’d change her mind about marrying him. It was endearing, but also frustrating.   
“Just wait,” Clark covered her hand with his own, “Soon it will be Mr. and Mrs. Everett.” He smiled broadly at her, but she had trouble answering that smile with out of her own. “Have you looked into any legal steps there might be to changing your last name?”  
I’m not even sure I want to change my name! Ally thought desperately. To her, it felt like Clark was interrogating her about why she hadn’t made up her mind, when, in reality, he was just curious. “Not yet . . .” she trailed off, not sure if she should voice her concerns.  
It’s not like she didn’t want to take Clark’s last name, it’s just that she didn’t want to give up the names she already had. To give up her birth parents’ name felt like betraying them (especially since she already felt guilty that she could barely remember her father) but to give up the McGees’ name made her feel like she seemed ungrateful for what they did for her. But she couldn’t have three last names, could she?  
“Oh,” Clark shrugged, “I just figured we might want to look into it. Wouldn’t want to forget to do something,” he paused in reaction to Ally’s tight smile, “You’re sure nothing is wrong?”  
“How many times do I have to tell you that I’m fine?” Ally demanded, jumping up and pulling her hand away from Clark’s.  
“I’m sorry. You just seem preoccupied,” Clark stood too, holing his hands up in defeat.  
The hurt on his face made everything worse. “Sorry,” Ally pushed her hair out of her eyes, “I’m just tired, that’s all.”  
“Oh,” Clark didn’t look convinced.  
“Let’s just get to Uncle Tony’s and Aunt Ziva’s,” Ally said, “We don’t want to be late.”  
Tony and Ziva were throwing a bridal shower for Ally (and Clark) at their house. Not many people were invited, just like not many people were invited to the actual wedding. The only people there besides the McGees and DiNozzos were Gibbs, Ducky, and Palmer’s family.  
“Hey, guys,” Ally opened the DiNozzo front door gently. You never knew what to expect when you walked into that house. Clark was behind her, but kept a careful distance between them. He still didn’t know what was wrong with her, so he’d been quiet in the car, and avoided grabbing her hand or putting his arm around her waist like he normally would.  
The atmosphere of the room they entered was one of a tense, uncertain silence. Apparently they’d just missed something.  
“What’s up?” Ally asked, looking around the living room, “Where’s Zachary?”  
“You just missed him,” Tony said, glancing out the back door, and Ally saw a glimpse of a brown head pacing in the yard.  
“What happened?” Clark came up beside Ally and no one missed how she flinched away from him.  
“He just stormed out,” McGee said slowly, looking from Ally to Clark.  
“I said, ‘Hey, Andrew,’ and he . . .” Katie gestured outside.  
“I’ll go talk to him,” Ziva patted Tony’s leg and stood up.  
“No, I got it,” Ally said, surprising everyone. “Sometimes it’s hard to explain things to someone you’re close to.”  
Everyone couldn’t help but assume she meant Clark, and even Clark himself had a look of wide-eyed surprise.  
“He was always a momma’s boy,” Tony gave Ally a strange look. “Maybe she should go talk to him instead of you, sweetcheeks.”  
“Okay,” Ziva sounded hesitant, but she sat back down.  
“Go get ‘em, Socks,” Tony smiled at her.  
Ally rolled her eyes at the nickname, “I stopped wearing multicolored knee-highs when I was fifteen, Uncle Tony.”  
“So?”  
Ally laughed, stuck her tongue out at Tony, and went outside.  
“I guess it’s just me she’s distant with, then,” Clark said as the door swung shut.

~o0o~

“Zachary?”  
Zachary looked up. He’d been expecting his mom, not— “Ally? You’re here already?”  
“Yep.”  
Zachary waited for Ally to ask him why he’d gotten mad and stomped off, but she didn’t, so he plunked himself down on a bench on the porch and asked, “Well?”  
“Well what?” Ally sat down next to him.  
“Well, aren’t you going to ask me what’s wrong?” Zachary gave her a look.  
“Nope.”  
“Nope?” Now he wasn’t sure what to say, “Why not?”  
“I’m just going to wait for you to tell me yourself.”  
“Oh.”  
There was a small silence. Finally, Zachary spoke up. “You changed your name when Uncle Tim and Aunt Abby adopted you, right?”  
That wasn’t what Ally expected to hear. “Yes,” she said in a measured voice, “Just my last name. Why?”  
“Were you afraid people would get mad?”  
“No,” Not then. “You’re not planning on being adopted, are you?”  
Zachary wrinkled his nose, “No.”  
“You’re going to put your sisters up for adoption then?”  
That actually made him laugh, “No,” he giggled and considered for a minute, “Okay, maybe just Katie.”  
“Then why do you want to know?”  
“I have a problem,” Zachary grew serious again.  
“What’s your problem?”  
“Zachary Greene and Zachary Donaldson are in my class this year.”  
“So?” Ally asked, not unkindly.  
“So, it’s going to be a problem.”  
“How do you know?”  
“I’ve had a class with both of them. Two years ago I was with Zachary Greene, and last year I was with Zachary Donaldson,” Zachary looked down at his hands.  
“Are they mean?”  
“No. It’s not like that. I like both of them.”  
“Then what’s the problem?” Ally thought she knew what this was about, but she let him tell her.  
“There’s three of us,” Zachary explained. “The name Zachary can only be shortened one way, and they already call Zachary Greene Zack, and Zachary Donaldson Zachary D, but that’s what they’d use for me,” Zachary sighed, “I don’t want to be called Zachary DiNozzo, or just DiNozzo, for the rest of my life.”  
Ally didn’t make fun of him, like he’d expected, or get mad at him for hating his name, even if he didn’t actually hate it. She didn’t say anything, just looked at him, so he felt compelled to continue.   
“And, last year, Dad talked at career day, and he called me Andrew, and then everybody asked about that, and it’s just—it’s just confusing.”  
“I know what you mean about that,” Ally nudged his shoulder, “When I changed my last name in high school, it was crazy, and everybody asked me questions, about my birth parents, about being adopted, about how I knew your Aunt Abby and Uncle Tim. It was hard for a while, but I like being a McGee, and being a Roberts too. You don’t have to hate your name to want to be called something different.”  
“You think so?”  
“I know so,” Ally made a decision, looking down at his earnest, smiling face. “What are you thinking of calling yourself?”  
“Well,” Ally had to hold back a laugh at the serious and contemplative look that graced the face of such a young boy. “I thought about Andrew, but then I thought about Mom, and that wouldn’t be right, because of their whole argument,” he paused until Ally nodded to confirm that, yes, she knew of the famous battle of the names. “So, then, I thought, well, I’ve never used Jethro, but that’s Grandpa Gibbs’s name, and I don’t wanna steal that,” he shrugged, “So I don’t know what to do.”  
Ally thought for a moment, “You could put them together.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“What about A.J? For Andrew Jethro?” Ally suggested.  
Zachary’s face lit up. “That’s perfect!” He threw his arms around Ally’s neck. “But how do I tell Mom and Dad? Won’t they be mad?”  
“I don’t think they will, if you explain it to them,” Ally ruffled Zachary’s hair, “And they’ll love you no matter what you do.”  
And I need to remember that too.

~o0o~

“Is everything okay?” Abby asked carefully when Ally and Zachary came back inside. Clark had explained what he knew about Ally’s weird mood, so Abby was talking as much to her adopted daughter as she was to Zachary.  
“We have two announcements,” Ally said, closing the door and putting an arm around Zachary.  
“Two?” Zachary looked up at her, confused.  
“Yep,” she nudged him, “Why don’t you tell them yours first?”  
Zachary swallowed. They were all looking at him, his parents, sisters, Annabelle and Rhiannon, Uncle Tim and Aunt Abby, Grandpa Gibbs and Grandpa Ducky, Uncle Palmer (or Uncle Autopsy Gremlin, as his dad kept trying to get him to call him) and Aunt Breena, and Clark too.   
“I—I don’t want to be called Zachary at school anymore,” he blurted.  
“What?” Ziva tensed like she wanted to stand up, but Tony held her back.  
“What do you want to be called?” Tony asked calmly.  
“A.J. For Andrew Jethro.”  
“What's wrong with Zachary, sweetie?” Ziva asked, but she didn’t sound mad, which was a relief.  
“Nothing! But –” he faltered.  
“Zachary Greene and Zachary Donaldson are both in his class,” Ally explained. “He doesn’t want to be confused, but he’s really afraid he’ll hurt your feelings.”  
“Aw, honey,” Ziva opened her arms, and Zachary came crashing into them, “Of course that doesn’t hurt my feelings.”  
Zachary sniffed, “Really?”  
“Of course not.”  
“You can still call me Zachary,” he assured her, “And Daddy can still call me Andrew.”  
Tony ruffled his son’s hair, “Sounds like a deal, Andrew.”  
“I like A.J.” Abby threw in, “There's that quarterback—”  
“Enough, Abby,” Ziva cut in, giving her friends a look.  
“Sorry.”  
Everyone laughed.  
Except for Clark.  
“You said you have an announcement?” he asked Ally hesitantly, locking eyes with her from across the room.  
“Yeah . . .” Ally took a deep breath, “I’m sorry I’ve been so rude lately, but I’ve had something important on my mind and—”  
“You’re not pregnant are you?” McGee demanded.  
“No!” Clark and Ally said together.  
Gibbs smiled, “That’s one way to find out if they’re sleeping together. Good one, Tim.” He took a sip of his beer.  
Ally rolled her eyes, “Calm down. As long as you don’t expect us to have twin beds after we’re married, I don’t care what interrogation techniques you use on us now.”  
Clark was blushing furiously, “I care!”  
“Anyway,” Annabelle broke in, “What’s you’re news?”  
“Right,” Ally blew air threw her teeth, “I’ve done a lot of thinking, and I’m not sure I want to take your last name,” her eyes were once again boring into Clark’s,” I just wasn’t sure how to tell you, and I really don’t even know what to do.” Clark’s expression was unreadable, so she hurried on, “It’s not that I don’t want to take your name, it’s just that, well, my names are who I am.”  
“You were afraid to tell me that?” Clark asked after a small silence.  
“I didn’t want you to be mad, or think I didn’t love you, or—”  
“Of course I know you love me,” Clark interrupted. “That’s why you said yes. I don’t need you to go by my name to know that.”  
“I want your name, though. And mine,” Ally half-argued. “I don’t know what to do.”  
“You could drop your middle name and be Ally Roberts McGee-Everett,” Tali suggested.  
“Of you could drop your middle name and be Ally Roberts-McGee Everett,” Katie added.  
“Nicole is my grandmother’s name,” Ally said ruefully. Nicole Roberts, her paternal grandmother, was the only living blood relative she had left.  
“Might I make a suggestion?” Ducky spoke up, “Why not just be Alianna Nicole Roberts-McGee Everett.”  
“That’s four of five names, depending on how you look at it,” Ally protested.  
“So?” Gibbs asked. “It’s your name, not anyone else’s.”  
“There’s nothing wrong with two middle names,” Zachary added.  
Ally looked at Clark again, “Is that okay with you?”  
“Is it what you want?”  
“I think so, yes.”  
“Then of course it’s okay with me.” Ally ran into Clarks’ embrace much the same way that Zachary had run into Ziva’s, but Clark gave Ally a kiss for good measure. “I love you, no matter what your name is,” he said, smiling.  
“I love you too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Here is a list of the DiNozzo kids:  
> Talia ‘Tali’ May DiNozzo-four year old (in this chapter at least) twin of Katie. Her nicknames include ‘Tali May’ and ‘Maisie’ which only Tony calls her. ‘Maisie’ is a spinoff of her middle name.
> 
> Caitlin ‘Katie’ Ann DiNozzo-four year old twin of Tali. Her nicknames include ‘Katie Ann’ and ‘Katie-Bug’ which only Tony calls her. 
> 
> Zachary Andrew Jethro DiNozzo-ten month old brother of Tali and Katie. Ziva calls him ‘Zachary’ and Tony calls him ‘Andrew’


End file.
